


You’re pretty when you win

by sunshine_kitcat (moonkevin)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Character Study, Drabble, Just sungtaro being the most badass mfers ever, Lightly beta’d, M/M, Tournaments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27855522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonkevin/pseuds/sunshine_kitcat
Summary: In the haze of absorbing the chants of his name, Sungchan almost doesn’t notice his opponent coming up the platform, a shy smile on his lips as he seems to curl into himself. If Sungchan didn’t know who the boy was, he might’ve thought of him as someone he’d have to protect. But then the opponent straightens, levelling his gaze with Sungchan and the illusion shatters.He’s much too powerful for Sungchan to be the one protecting.
Relationships: Jung Sungchan/Osaki Shotaro, Norenmin and chenji if u quint really hard
Comments: 23
Kudos: 143
Collections: WIP OLYMPICS: WINTER 2020/21





	You’re pretty when you win

**Author's Note:**

> Inam Simply doing my service to the Dry Desert Nation of Sungtaro >:(

Sungchan inhales, a puff of air drumming down his insides as he squeezes his eyes shut. He can hear the low hum of the crowd yelling and hollering just outside of the arena doors, excited and pumped. Their infectious energy travels past the concrete walls of the prep room, where it seeps into Sungchan’s fingertips. The spirits inside of him stir at the call, ready to leak out of Sungchan’s flimsy hold on his Trait. He takes another deep breath, mentally sending a signal to the friends he has under his hold. They quiet, if only in anticipation.

_ Oh my god, it’s happening. _

_ We’re fighting  _ him  _ today, right?! _

_ Shh, Yangyang! You’re distracting Chanchan! _

Slowly, Sungchan opens his eyes, staring at the gate in front of him. It was halfway open at this point, dark green surface slowly lifting to unveil the bright stadium light outside. Sungchan squints to adjust to the light, his legs moving before his mind could fully commit. The crowds’ deafening cheers amplify, luring out the spirits under Sungchan’s fingertips with every holler. Sungchan grits his teeth in a poor attempt to keep the damn thing under control. It’s not going fantastically well, to say the least.

_ This is too bright. _

_ It’s literally 8 PM, Renjun. _

_ Excuse me for preferring the dark. It’s better for my skin. _

_ No? It isn’t? _

“Ladies and gentlemen, humans and not, extremities of existence and all things in the vague in-between,” a loud announcer bellows, the same telltale sharp voice digging into Sungchan’s skin like a bed of nerves like it has been doing for the past season. Chenle squirms under the voice, chattering inside Sungchan’s head. He dislikes the announcer’s voice too, as the only one of Sungchan’s spirits who knows the meaning of nerves.

_ Hey! We get nervous too! _

_ Yeah! Jeno tried to eat half a bottle of whipped cream last night! _

_ That was just a Donghyuck dare, Sungie. I’m not that nervous. _

_ Says the guy who crawled into my mental space last night demanding cuddles. _

“Welcome to the Grand Finals of the Junior’s Worlds Traits Competition,” the announcer continues, voice booming as it resonates throughout the arena. The arena of more than forty thousand people, with millions more watching from home.

Junior’s Worlds is a big deal, after all, second in fame only to Worlds itself. Sungchan’s brother is competing in it next month. He’s like an appetizer of sorts, really, in the grand scheme of the tournaments. Juniors is the last major championship of the season for Sungchan, and he has never managed to end the season on a good note. Something always ends up happening, like an injury or sudden world-threatening crisis, much to the chagrin of his coach, Ten.

_ Why is he thinking about Ten again? _

_ Remember his words, Chanchan! You’ll do great. _

_ You’re too good for this world, Sungie... _

“You need to get a grip on your spirits,” Ten has said to him not five minutes ago, just in the prep room. Sungchan had nodded dutifully back then, not really paying attention. He was too nervous, after all.

“Remember that in the end, you guys are partners,” Ten reminded him, patting Sungchan on the shoulders as he straightened, a grin on his face.

“Knock ‘em dead, champ.”

“We had an excellent match today, one rumoured to put all other Finals to shame! Five years of rivalry, unfortunate and accidental eliminations and injuries have led to this very battle, where the greatest Trait prodigies the world has ever seen finally face off in a decisive battle that shall only happen once in a millennium!” the announcer rambles on, slowly snapping Sungchan back to the present. 

_ He’s boring. _

_ Chenle? Shut up. _

Sungchan squeezes his eyes shut and opens them again slowly, regulating his breathing as he clenches and unclenches his fist. The aura around him hums with familiarity, the same pseudo-suit of armour he’s always known throughout his life, from the day Sungchan was born to this very moment.

“On your left is Jung Sungchan, the Hero of Hanyong Harbour and youngest Trait user to ever win a World Trait Organization approved championship!” the announcer yells in tandem with the roaring crowd. Sungchan’s anxiety melts away at the roar of the crowd, mind slipping into the sanctuary of focus it always does at the presence of a crowd. Sungchan’s always been a peoples person. He lives for others, seeking to become the shining superstar they always turned to.

_ And then making a fool of yourself by tripping on this air, you mean. _

_ It’s a miracle Sungchan hasn’t dissipated us and found new spirits yet, isn’t it? _

_ Nah, he loves us too much. _

In the haze of absorbing the chants of his name, Sungchan almost doesn’t notice his opponent coming up the platform, a shy smile on his lips as he seems to curl into himself. If Sungchan didn’t know who the boy was, he might’ve thought of him as someone he’d have to protect in an attack. But then the opponent straightens, levelling his gaze with Sungchan and the illusion shatters.

_ Always at his mercy.  _ A snicker.

_ Chanchan’s already lost, hasn’t he? _

“And on your right,” the announcer booms, a glint of excitement in his tone. “Is our beloved Osaki Shotaro, Lightbender and Slayer of the Thousand Fanged Serpent, hauled over from the ranks of team Wish to compete in the final championship of his youth. Give it up for Shotaro!”

_ Show me that Taro milk tea! _

_ Lele, your jokes are terrible. _

_ We’re fighting Shota today?! Fuck, I’m not ready for this emotionally. He bought me ice cream two nights ago. _

_ Nana, I love you but we’ve literally been talking about Taro’s match for the past two weeks. How in Trait Scout’s name did you forget?! _

_ He bought me ice cream… _

The crowd explodes, hollering and cheering with all their might as Shotaro preens under the high praise. If they weren’t supposed to be rivals right now, Sungchan might’ve even reached over to squish Shotaro’s cheeks. He’s just too cute!

“Hush now, hush now, we are about to begin,” the announcer says gently, the enthusiasm in his voice muted. The crowd settles down for a moment, all on the edge of their seat as the referee’s whistle rings shrill into the air.

_ Focus, everyone _ , Sungchan hisses through the telepathy link. The others snap to attention, no longer making idle chitchat.

“On your marks!” the referee bellows, not a hint of emotion in her eyes like the fair robot that she is. Sungchan lowers himself into a crouch as if he’s ready to run. Jaemin hums inside of Sungchan’s head, sending trickles of magic into Sungchan’s lower body. Bunny powers, they call it. Jaemin likes the cheesy names.

“Get set!”

Shotaro follows suit, letting his hands touch the ground as a silent agreement passes between them. Sungchan musters a small smirk, nodding ever so slightly in response. May the best fighter win.

“Go!” the referee yells, fireworks set off at the signal. The crowd cheers. The world hollers. The spirits held back by Sungchan’s flimsy grasp burst out like a bomb, surging forwards.

The thing about being a Spirit Wielder is that Sungchan himself isn’t the fighter. Never was, never is, and never will be. He’s just the vessel through which his spirits fight through. And that’s exactly what they do.

Jisung is the first to it, ever the speedy little mouse that he is. He activates his Size Manipulator Trait, turning absolutely massive as he flops down onto Shotaro. Shotaro expects the attack with graceful ease, pointing a finger into the air as he disappears into a puff of bright light, reassembling himself on top of giant-mouse-form Jisung. The crowd goes wild at that one.

Sungchan takes Jaemin’s boost from earlier to jump out of Jisung’s tail as it flicks upwards and towards Shotaro. Shotaro dodges it with ease, summoning a bright orange and yellow shield with a swirly design, grazing off the attack. In his moment of evasion, Sungchan reaches through the telepathy bond with his spirits and finds Jaemin, summoning the rabbit hybrid onto the tip of Jisung’s tail.

Jaemin jumps out with a firm kick on Shotaro’s light shield, shattering it completely before rebounding on Jisung’s tail to charge forwards. His new rocket boots activate as they slam down on Shotaro, just shy of missing him when Shotaro extends his arms and captures Jaemin in a spiderweb of golden light.

Sungchan reacts immediately, starting to run out of sight as he recalls Jisung and Jaemin before the attack could go off. Shotaro knows him like the back of his hand. The attack is one they’ve sparred with before, countless times. He’s gotten adept at countering the duo, it seems.

No matter, Sungchan has more tricks up his sleeves.

Shotaro’s light magic solidifies in his hands as he starts to free fall, forming a bow with an arrow knocked. Sungchan dives, tucking into a roll as the arrow zips past the back of his head, barely missing his target as Sungchan grits his teeth. He reaches into the telepathy bond again and tugs.

_ Chenle! _ Sungchan yells mentally, summoning the dolphin hybrid as Chenle leaps from his palms, mouth already open. He screams, the sonic waves from the sound attack too high for the human ear to catch as it turns Shotaro’s light arrow attacks into mush.

The sheer force of the attack nearly slams Shotaro into a nearby wall, the yellow circle around his aura gauge starting to tick down. But before he could slide to the floor, Shotaro leans forwards and pushes himself off of the wall, charging at Sungchan.

_ Jeno, Yangie, Operation Catch ‘n Smash, let’s go!  _ Sungchan calls out mentally, already back on the run as he summons his next round of spirits. Yangyang is the first to pop out, ever the overenthusiastic lamb that he is. He throws piles of sticky puffs at Shotaro, too many and too fast to dodge out of the way as it sticks to him. The childlike gleam in Yangyang’s eyes is nearly sadistic as he  _ giggles _ , soaring through the air and practically drowning Shotaro in the sticky puff.

Jeno follows suit, an exasperated smile on his face as he clenches his fist. The earth rises to his command, forming a giant rocky fist as Jeno slams it down, past the fluff of Yangyang’s trap and into Shotaro.

Curiously enough, Shotaro’s aura meter doesn’t budge.

The crowd screams and yells in excitement, on the edge of their seat as the dust settles. Shotaro is pushing back against the earthen fist with his light, resisting the attack with sheer force of will and Sungchan can’t help but gape.

This has never happened in practice. Catch ‘n Smash almost always works.

“I can’t believe my eyes, folks! He’s caught the fist!” the announcer yells, the excitement palpable in his tone. Sungchan grits his teeth, his brain kicking into high gear as he tries to figure out what to do next. Before he can decide, though, Shotaro yells, pushing the fist out of the way and into the air, taking control of the giant ball of rock. He turns to Sungchan, a giant badminton racket made of solid light in one hand as he smacks the rock downwards. Hard.

A body slams into Sungchan’s, pushing him out of the way as he’s practically thrown halfway across the arena. Sungchan slams into the arena’s floor, pain shooting up his spine as he watches his aura meter go down, albeit less so than Shotaro’s. He scrambles up, whipping his head over to try to see what happened.

Jaemin lies under the force of the rock, face contorted in pain as he’s practically crushed under its weight. Sungchan’s heart sinks. He’s being careless again. Forgetting to move in his thinking daze. Jaemin looks up from under the rock, exhaustion palpable in his face as he levels his gaze with Sungchan.

_ Go get him _ , Jaemin mutters over the telepathy link, and Sungchan spares a precious second to nod. He inhales, turning back to Shotaro, who’s shaping a giant beam of energy in his hands. Sungchan reacts reflexively, digging through the telepathy link again. Chenle can’t fend off this attack.

It’s time to pull out his first ace card.

The light beam rips through the air, rippling through the arena from the sheer force of the attack, slamming into the grounds below. The crowd gasps, shocked and worried as Shotaro unveils his power move. Solar Flare is always a crowd favourite.

But that’s the thing about crowd favourites. Sungchan knows exactly how to counter it.

“Two impossible saving throws in a row!” the announcer yells as the dust settles and the beam dissipates, not one tick off of Sungchan’s aura meter. “We’re in for a match, folks!”

Sungchan grins to himself, proud as he watches Shotaro gape in shock.

Standing in front of Sungchan is none other than fennec fox and fire wielder Renjun, his ears sticking out of his dark brown hair and a furrow of concentration in his brow. Fire swarms around him, dancing like a circle of protection as it licks Renjun’s cheek. The light beam is nothing against Renjun’s signature move, Inferno. Sungchan’s spent the past two months training the move with Renjun for this very reason, after all.

Renjun holds up his hand, concentrating his fire again as he blasts, covering Shotaro’s half of the arena in fire as he tries to breakthrough. Just when Shotaro almost makes it to the safe side by running along the walls, Sungchan extends his hand and summons up Chenle again, yelling into the telepathy link.

_ Injun, Lele, fire twister!  _ Sungchan hollers, watching as Chenle pops into existence and slams his hand into the ground. The vibrations ripple through the earth and swirl together, wrapping itself into a giant tornado. Renjun jumps straight into it, fire rolling off of him like a forest fire as it spreads into the twister, directed by Renjun himself.

The crowd cheers at the sight of a new move. Sungchan grits his teeth. They haven’t had much time to practice this move, but he hopes it works. It has to work.

Shotaro sees right through him. As soon as the twister approaches, he kicks off the wall, surrounding his legs in a layer of ribbon-like light and kicks, wrapping the light around Chenle and Renjun immediately. Shotaro twists midair like the absolute madman that he is, sending them flying into the nearest wall, one after another. As Renjun’s yanked out of the twister, control is lost, the attack losing its momentum. It slams into Shotaro nonetheless, docking out a quarter of his aura bar, but Sungchan’s the one to really face defeat here.

He’s lost three out of seven of his spirits now. He can’t keep going like this. Without the spirits, Sungchan is nothing but dead meat.

Still, it’s hard not to have hope when Shotaro slams into the ground, the full force of the attack showing on his body. Sungchan doesn’t give him a moment to rest, surging forwards as he calls on Jeno again. Jeno pops out, pushing his palms into the air as the ground rises from beneath them, something akin to an earthquake as Shotaro’s body is propelled into the air again.

As soon as he does it, Sungchan realizes his mistake.

Shotaro is somewhat of a flying squirrel, his secondary element being air. Sure, his Trait is manipulating light, but his  _ element _ has always been air. It shows even in their battle today, with Shotaro’s preference to stay in the air. It gives him a mental advantage, in a way.

And in a battle, mentality is  _ everything _ .

Shotaro twists in midair, forming a long javelin of light as he throws it at Jeno. Jeno reacts fast, bringing up a rock to shield himself as the two attacks collide, exploding spectacularly as the force sends both attackers backwards.

Sungchan whips his head around in time to see Yangyang popping out from his reserve under Sungchan’s control, no longer able to sit back to watch his teammates get decimated. A scream lodges in Sungchan’s throat as he tries to stop Yangyang, knowing exactly why Shotaro’s method of elimination so far has been smashing Sungchan’s spirits against the walls.

Temptation. A bait. A trap.

And Yangyang’s fallen straight into it.

_ Yangie, stop! _ Sungchan presses firmly, holding Yangyang back with every fibre of control his body has to offer as Jeno slams into the wall. Yangyang gets close enough to trigger the trap, even if he’s yanked out of it at the last minute by Sungchan.

Jeno’s surroundings explode in a giant ball of light, powerful enough to knock out any of Sungchan’s spirits. Shotaro calls it Juliet’s poison, like the cheeky genius that he is, aimed at those who aren’t wise enough to know when to leave a teammate behind.

Yangyang flinches, turning back to Sungchan with dark, glassy eyes and Sungchan’s gut drops like Shotaro’s aura bar. He’s not making enough progress. He’s losing too many of his spirits too fast. He won’t last like this.

Turning back to Shotaro, Sungchan locks his jaw, eyes narrowing into a glare. Shotaro is back on the offence again, visually unaffected by the attacks. Sungchan knows better, seeing the slight lag in his movements and knowing that this is his best chance at using his ace. It might even be his last chance. So he holds up his hand and pulls deep into the telepathy bond to summon his final spirit, his ace in the hole.

_ Hyuckie? _

A mental grin.

_ I thought you’d never ask. _

The world plunges into darkness as Donghyuck steps into the light, swirling in a dangerous and enticing purple. The crowd gasps, full of shock. They’ve never seen Donghyuck before, the newest addition to Sungchan’s roster of seven, and the strongest in these kinds of battles.

Shotaro freezes in mid-air, eyes growing wide with fear as he drops to the ground, landing gently but doubling over in pain.

“No, no please no!” he yells, and Sungchan’s stomach twists in the knot. There’s a reason he doesn’t like to use Donghyuck’s Trait too much outside of very select scenarios.

Nightmares, that’s what he calls this particular spin-off of his illusionary powers. Donghyuck digs into the depths of someone’s brain and tugs, hard, finding exactly what makes their knees give out and their body shut down. He tortures his victims, in that sense, the very embodiment of fear itself.

“Donghyuck,” Sungchan hisses, grabbing Donghyuck’s arm and trying to shake him out of it. Down the arena, Shotaro’s screams of anguish fill the air, pained and terrified. A sucker punch to Sungchan’s guts. He called out Donghyuck to distract him, maybe whip up an illusion or two. Not… this.

_ You need to get a grip on your spirits _ , Ten’s words echo in the back of Sungchan’s mind, offering him peace. Focus. Clarity.

Sungchan inhales, calming himself as he reaches out and turns Donghyuck’s eyes away from Shotaro.

He’s not just a vessel in this agreement. Donghyuck may be a restless spirit, unable to use his Trait for long enough to quench the bloodthirst of his Trait, trying to take over, but Sungchan won’t let him go on much further.

“Recall,” Sunghchan hisses with as much finality as he can muster, and Donghyuck flinches. He goes from the sadistic and borderline evil mastermind to the cute and very much not evil pudu deer Sungchan picked up three months ago, guilt colouring his expression.

“I—“ Donghyuck begins, and Sungchan shakes his head.

“Later,” Sungchan insists, gaze still firm. “Recall, Hyuckie.”

Donghyuck opens his mouth to protest again when a light javelin soars in the air out of the corner of Sungchan’s eyes. Before he can react, Jisung reacts for him, jumping out of the bond and slamming his big-ified palms around the javelin, effectively stopping it in its path. It explodes nonetheless, sending Jisung flying backwards and Donghyuck along with him. They slam into the wall, eliminated together as the puff of light reactivates, preventing anyone from entering. It’s not like Sungchan has more spirits who  _ could _ enter anyway, though.

Sungchan turns to Shotaro, who’s shakily standing up with a palm against his temple. Sungchan winces.

“Sorry!” Sungchan yells, trying to ignore the mixed reaction he gets from the crowd. He did something wrong. He needs to apologize. It’s what he owes Shotaro, at the very least, for mentally torturing him for ten seconds.

Shotaro looks up weakly at Sungchan, a lopsided grin on his face.

“Please don’t do that again,” Shotaro retorts, and Sungchan nods. They’re training buddies, betraying Shotaro’s trust would be stupid. The promise will hold, if that’s the last thing Sungchan can do.

Evidently satisfied with the answer, Shotaro leaps forwards, gathering light energy in his palm again as he takes a bolder approach. Sungchan immediately retreats, down to only one non-offensive spirit left and almost all out of cards to play. Shotaro presses onwards, smashing light disc after light blades into Sungchan’s aura shield as he goes flying backwards, aura meter down dangerously low. He’s too close to being out now.

_ Better luck next time,  _ Sungchan thinks bitterly, as his crippling defeat inches closer. Shotaro raises his light hammer, swinging it in a wide arc and into Sungchan. Mere moments before it makes a contact, a voice pricks in the corner of Sungchan’s brain.

_ Not yet _ , Yangyang’s voice echoes back as a small cushion of fluff forms in front of Sungchan, peeling away to reveal Yangyang in all of his glory. There’s a strange glow to his body, like the fire tickling his earlobes or the ring of earth around his waist. As Sungchan lets more things hit him, he slowly realizes exactly what’s happening.

The others had imbued their magic into Sungchan’s last standing spirit, their final shot as a group.

And for the first time in his life, Sungchan hands his spirits the reins.

The world explodes in a burst of light as Shotaro’s final attack collides with Yangyang instead, energy and magic flying into the air as it pushes everyone back and into the nearest wall. Even the crowd is affected by the attack, looking like they got swept through a tornado. Sungchan slams into the wall with a sickening boom on his aura shield, shattered into bits. On the other side of the arena lies an equally knocked out Shotaro, looking scarily pale. Yangyang is nowhere to be seen, but Sungchan can make him out through the telepathy link. He’s down for the count.

The two yellow aura meters plummet, reducing to nothingness as Sungchan’s body screams in pain. Too much. Everything feels too much. The lights, the noise, the energy.

Energy Sungchan doesn’t have to stand up anymore.

On the other end of the arena, Shotaro inhales sharply, filling his lungs with hard-earned air as he pushes himself up weakly with one arm. He rises shakily to the chants of Shotaro’s name on the crowds’ mouths. Sungchan watches him in a state of dazed, staring at the beautiful way in which the spotlight frames Shotaro’s sweat-drenched, dirty and scratched up face, and the way his hair is sticking out in all sorts of odd places.

Somehow, he’s still beautiful through all of that.

Shotaro walks over to Sungchan while the crowd hollers and cheers, celebrating his victory as the announcer regains his composure. Sungchan hasn’t the energy to even move, settling into a comfortable smile as Shotaro approaches. He jumps onto a nearby boulder to elevate himself up to Sungchan’s indent in the wall, the most adorable smile in the world on his face.

“You were fantastic,” Shotaro whispers. Sungchan smiles back, too tired to respond as Shotaro leans in, pressing a soft peck onto his lips. The crowd goes nuts at that, exploding in a mixture of shock, excitement and pure, unadulterated joy. Sungchan giggles, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest.

Sungchan doesn’t just train with any random competitor. There are too many to even consider, too many who only wish to learn of his tactics ahead of time. It’s a bad strategy, to let others know your cards before you even play them.

But Shotaro?

Sungchan’s too deep in love to deny his boyfriend the pleasure of a nice sparring session.

_ Disgusting. Right in front of my salad,  _ Renjun mutters in Sungchan’s mind, nose scrunch clear even through the telepathy link.

_ Shut up, Renjun. Go kiss Nana or Jeno’s injuries better or something, hypocrite. They’re cute _ , Donghyuck teases back, plucking the words right out of Sungchan’s brain. Maybe he had plucked them out.

_ This isn’t how I imagined you two would come out to the public,  _ Jisung interjects, worry laced in his mental tone.

_ Oh shut up and give me my get well soon cuddles, Sungie. Let Chanchan have his moment,  _ Chenle chirps back, and Sungchan’s caught up enough of his breath to start thinking again.

_ Guys? _ Sungchan asks, exasperated.

_ Yeah?  _ The spirits all chime back.

_ Shut up. _

“Come on, Chanchan,” Shotaro whispers, pulling Sungchan back to reality. “Let’s go get you patched up.”

Sungchan smiles at him, opening his mouth with great difficulty to respond.

“You’re so pretty when you win, Taro,” Sungchan croaks, voice hoarse and pained. Shotaro smiles back at him with those pretty crescent moon eyes of his, as if they weren’t being watched by tens of millions of people.

“Guess I better win more for you then,” Shotaro laughs gently, and Sungchan’s smile widens as much as his pained muscles would allow.

“Guess you should.”

**Author's Note:**

> 👀 what could Sungtaro Possibly be referencing? ;P guess you’ll just have to wait to find out!
> 
> Hmu on [twitter](%E2%80%9C)


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